Quebrar Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Quebrar means “to break”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Quebrar means to break, and it is used for breaking a bone, breaking a promise and a company going bankrupt. It is fully regular, and in Latin America it is the everyday verb for breaking, where romper is more common in Spain. This page shows quebrar in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente.” — I break a leg in the accident.
Quebrar in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how quebrar is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use quebrar in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Quebro una pierna en el accidente.” — I break a leg in the accident.
“¿Tú quebras una promesa importante?” — Do you break an important promise?
“Quebra el cristal de la ventana.” — He/she breaks the window glass.
“Quebramos con la crisis de la empresa.” — We break with the company's crisis.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show quebrar in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo quebré una pierna en el accidente.” — Yesterday, I broke a leg in the accident. (preterite)
“Él quebraba una promesa importante todos los días.” — He used to break an important promise every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of quebrar stays the same.
“Nosotros quebraremos el cristal de la ventana mañana.” — We will break the window glass tomorrow. (future)
“¿Tú has quebrado con la crisis de la empresa?” — Have you broken with the company's crisis? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Quebráis una pierna en el accidente.” — You break a leg in the accident.
“Quebran una promesa importante.” — They break an important promise.
“Quebro el cristal de la ventana.” — I break the window glass.
“Quebra con la crisis de la empresa.” — He/she breaks with the company's crisis.
Quebrar in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how quebrar appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú quebras una pierna en el accidente?” — Do you break a leg in the accident?
Carlos: “Sí, yo quebro una pierna en el accidente.” — Yes, I break a leg in the accident.
Lucía: “Nosotros quebramos una promesa importante.” — We break an important promise.
Carlos: “Y ellos quebran el cristal de la ventana.” — And they break the window glass.
Lucía: “Vosotros quebráis con la crisis de la empresa.” — You break with the company's crisis.
Carlos: “Sí, y él quebra una promesa importante.” — Yes, and he breaks an important promise.
A short paragraph
Lucía quebra una pierna en el accidente, y Carlos quebra una promesa importante. Nosotros quebramos el cristal de la ventana, y ellos quebran con la crisis de la empresa. Yo quebro el cristal de la ventana, y mi padre quebra con la crisis de la empresa. Quebrar is part of everyday life, because to break is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with quebrar
These are the errors learners actually make with quebrar. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo quebra una pierna en el accidente.” Right: “Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente.” Why: The person matters: quebra is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is quebro. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo quebro una promesa importante.” Right: “Ayer yo quebré una promesa importante.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: quebro is happening now, while quebré is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating quebrar and romper as identical in every context.” Right: “Quebrar means to break, while romper means to break.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: quebrar fits sentences such as Quebro una pierna en el accidente, while romper belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy quebrado una promesa importante.” Right: “Yo he quebrado una promesa importante.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he quebrado, has quebrado, ha quebrado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo quebré el cristal de la ventana todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo quebraba el cristal de la ventana todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (quebraba), not the preterite. The preterite (quebré) is for one finished action.
Quiz: quebrar in use
Ten questions on quebrar in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ una pierna en el accidente.” (A leg in the accident.)
- (a) quebráis
- (b) quebro
- (c) quebras
Answer: quebráis — The vosotros/as form of quebrar in the present is quebráis.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ una promesa importante.” (An important promise.)
- (a) quebro
- (b) quebras
- (c) quebran
Answer: quebran — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of quebrar in the present is quebran.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ una pierna en el accidente.” (A leg in the accident.)
- (a) quebró
- (b) quebré
- (c) quebraste
Answer: quebré — The yo form of quebrar in the preterite is quebré.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ una promesa importante.” (An important promise.)
- (a) quebraba
- (b) quebrabas
- (c) quebrábamos
Answer: quebraba — The él/ella/Ud. form of quebrar in the imperfect is quebraba.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ el cristal de la ventana.” (The window glass.)
- (a) quebraré
- (b) quebrarás
- (c) quebraremos
Answer: quebraremos — The nosotros/as form of quebrar in the future is quebraremos.
6. What does quebrar mean in English?
- (a) to work, to go, to march
- (b) to break
- (c) to repair
Answer: to break — Quebrar means “to break”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente.
- (b) Ellos quebra una pierna en el accidente.
- (c) Yo quebro una promesa importante ayer.
Answer: Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente. — “Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I break a leg in the accident.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo quebran una pierna en el accidente.
- (b) Yo quebré una pierna en el accidente.
- (c) Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente.
Answer: Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente. — “Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of quebrar in the present tense?
- (a) quebras
- (b) quebramos
- (c) quebro
Answer: quebramos — The nosotros form is quebramos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo quebré una pierna en el accidente.
- (b) Nosotros quebraremos una pierna en el accidente mañana.
- (c) Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente.
Answer: Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente. — “Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I break' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo quebro una pierna en el accidente todos los días'.
How do you say 'I break' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo quebré una promesa importante'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo quebraba una promesa importante todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo he quebrado una promesa importante'.
What is the difference between quebrar and romper?
Quebrar means to break, while romper means to break. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use quebrar when you mean to break, as in Quebro una pierna en el accidente.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of quebrar — every tense of quebrar in one place.
- Quebrar in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on quebrar and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of quebrar until they are automatic.